February 27th, 2022
By Ed Raymond
fargogadfly@gmail.com
Will a Political Party That Burns Books Ultimately Burn Who Reads Them?
My choice for second-worst political party in modern times is the Monster Raving Loony Party organized in Great Britain by Davis “Screaming Lord” Such. His platform had two major goals: (1) tow Britain 500 miles further out to sea to improve its climate, and (2) put glowing phosphorescent material in all dog food so that pedestrians walking in the dark would not step in doo-doo…
February 27th, 2022
By Ed Raymond
fargogadfly@gmail,com
Three Men Who Turned Me Into a Social Liberal and a Moral Capitalist
My political beliefs were not forged by Greek philosophers, Nobel economists, politicians, and historians. They were born and matured by words of steel by three writers of fiction: Howard Pyle, Geoffrey Chaucer, and William Shakespeare. In District #54 in Morrison County we averaged about three kids per grade, give or take (I graduated from Eighth Grade with Jim and Adeline). Our…
February 19th, 2022
By Ed Raymond
fargogadfly@gmail.com
Should That Be a Question on the Job in the Richest Country in the World?
Back in the 17th century, Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play mused about life and death, heaven, purgatory and hell, religion, and whether suicide might be an answer to all of life’s problems in the greatest soliloquy ever written. Here are a few lines:
To be, or not to be, that is the question; whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,…
January 29th, 2022
By Ed Raymond
fargogadfly@gmail.com
The Roman Empire Lasted About 600 Years
How long will the American Empire last? The English historian Edward Gibbons covered the rise and fall of the Roman Empire in six volumes published in 1788 and 1789. He covers 98 AD to 1590 AD in his epic work. Among his six volumes he has an excellent summary of why Rome failed in just one sentence: “The Roman Empire succumbed to barbarian invasions in large part due to the gradual loss of civic virtue among…
January 23rd, 2022
By Ed Raymond
fargogadfly@gmail.com
Insanity, Racism, Bigotry, and Narcissism Have Created a New Religion
Up until the presidential election of 2016 there were an estimated 2,600 religious denominations in the world. On November 3, 2016, enough White Power Christians morphed into Trumpians to make 2,601. As a person who has been involved with both Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations for 82 years after going through First Communion at seven, I was not surprised that a recent Gallup…
January 20th, 2022
By Ed Raymond
fargogadfly@gmail.com
Photo by Sabrina Hornung
When Will The Do-Nothing Congress Fund Parks for The Ninety-Nine Percent?
The Raymonds are state and national park people. Our farm was four miles from Lindbergh State Park along the Mississippi River at Little Falls. We spent many a wonderful weekend and holiday under the huge pines and fishing for northern pike and walleye in the river above and below the dam.
The park, formerly a farm of 110 acres, was given to the state in…
December 20th, 2021
By Ed Raymond
fargogadfly@gmail.com
Is It the Common Good for Billionaires to Sail $500 Million Superyachts?
The new Republican Party and Abraham Lincoln set out 161 years ago to save the United States from break up. James Russell Lowell, The Atlantic magazine’s first editor, wrote: “The Republicans know that true policy is gradual in its advances, that it is conditional and not absolute, that it must deal with facts and not with sentiments.”
I have been a reader and subscriber to…
December 4th, 2021
By Ed Raymond
fargogadfly@gmail.com
When Will It End? Gun Culture Has Killed 1,500,000 Americans in 50 Years
On Thanksgiving Day, 25-year-old Philadelphian Edilberto Miguel Palaez Moctezuma was eating his turkey dinner with his family at their dining room table when a stray bullet hit him. He was quickly flown to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. There was an argument among some neighbors about missing liquor which resulted in an exchange of gunfire.
On November 29, a Fargo…
November 28th, 2021
By Ed Raymond
The Spread of Luxury and Poverty in the Middle of a Pandemic
The wealth gap between the top ten percent and bottom ninety percent has reached staggering proportions. In 1970 the wealthiest families owned about 20% of the nation’s household wealth. Today they own more than 35%. Elon Musk, who often pays no federal income taxes, made $38 billion in one remarkable day on the New York Stock Exchange. In the first 19 months of the COVID-19 pandemic U.S.…
November 21st, 2021
By Ed Raymond
fargogadly@gmail.com
Onward, Christian Soldiers, Marching as to War, With the Flags of Trump…
The North Dakota Legislature enshrined itself in theological Trumpocracy by passing a bill to prevent the teaching of Critical Race Theory, attempting to protect innocent White kids from the embarrassment of learning the actual history of the Divided States of America.
Trumplican lawmakers said it would not prevent teachers from teaching historical factual “events.” Let’s…
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By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.comIt’s been eight years since the Water Protectors were cleared off the banks of the Cannonball and Missouri Rivers. It was a bitter ending to a battle to protect the water; and for most of us…
By HPR Staff We’re all a part of building strong, healthy and inclusive communities. But the region’s non-profit organizations do a lot of the heavy lifting. Now it’s time for these organizations to step into the spotlight.…
Saturday, March 15, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County, Hjemkomst Center202 1st Avenue N., MoorheadLet’s be real, Irish culture is on everyone’s mind in mid-March, so why not expand your horizons and…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com 2025 marks us halfway through the roaring 2020s. Boy, am I glad I didn’t bob my hair for this go-around. It feels like we’re off to the wrong roar, opening Pandora’s box of what-the-Fox…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comLennon: “Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can!”On January 8, 2025, Timothy W. Rybeck of “The Atlantic" magazine published “How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days” with the…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com As a food enthusiast, there’s nothing better than attending a local event featuring hotdish. And as far as hotdish events go, no place does it better than the fine folks at Brewhalla and Drekker…
Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comBong Joon-ho’s highly anticipated follow-up to the game-changing Oscar-winner “Parasite” was set to arrive in theaters last year, but the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike pushed the date. Was the…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Everyone has heard the adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” However, it is safe to say there are far more than a thousand in Mickey Smith’s photographs. When one hears…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By Josette Ciceronunapologeticallyanxiousme@gmail.com What does it mean to truly live in a community —or should I say, among community? It’s a question I have been wrestling with since I moved to Fargo-Moorhead in February 2022.…
By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com On Dec 5, the Turning Point USA chapter at North Dakota State University hosted an event called BisonFest. This event featured Chloe Cole, a former trans kid, known for detransitioning and…
By Gilbert Kuipersgilbertkuipers@outlook.com I live in North Dakota District 24 and have been challenging the district Republicans about their understanding of climate science for years. There has been no serious response to my…
